1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed, in at least certain embodiments, to systems and methods involving the descenting of transported things: items, materials, and people, including, but not limited to, persons, drugs, explosives, produce, and agricultural products, biological materials (including, but not limited to, bacteria, molds, dander, protein, urine, plasma, sera, viral agents, viruses, yeast, air pollen, blood, spores, protozoa, allergens, semen, radioactive materials, soil, sludge water, ground water, VOCs, biological and/or chemical toxins, cysts, and gaseous agents) and animals; to the transportation of such things with an oxidizing agent generator; and to the detection of things or persons being transported with an operating oxidizing agent generator.
The present invention, in certain aspects, is directed to descenting systems and methods, and in certain particular aspects, to such systems and methods for reducing or eliminating the various odors of contraband through the use of oxidizing or ozone-based descenting products and materials. Additionally, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for the training and detection, by humans and service animals, of the use of such systems and methods for reducing or eliminating the various odors of contraband through the use of ozone-based descenting products. Additionally, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for protecting the health and property of humans and animals exposed to contraband.
The present invention is directed, in certain aspects, to descenting systems and methods; in certain aspects, to such systems and methods for facilitating human/animal encounters and activities; and in other aspects to methods and systems for reducing or eliminating animal and/or human odors that are detectable by animals and/or humans. The invention relates to a method of descenting the clothes and apparatus of sportsmen, both professional, non professional, military personnel, bikers, campers and the like. In certain aspects a method is provided for reducing or removing human scent and any other scent that is not advantageous in an environment from clothing and equipment of hunters and fish odors from fishermen utilizing an oxidizing agent which is ozone and/or a combination of hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions. More particularly, there is provided a method of reducing or removing human scent and any other scent in a space between a human and an animal that is not advantageous in an environment, including scents emitting from human breath, human bodies, and from clothing and equipment, the methods utilizing an oxidizing agent which is, e.g., ozone and/or a combination of hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions.
The present inventors have recognized that it can be important to detect the use of a descenting system. For example, service animals, such as narcotic-sniffing canines, have been employed to discern whether individuals are importing contraband into a geographic location. Typically, this determination is done by taking advantage of the inherent acuteness of the canine sense of smell. The importation of such contraband is, obviously, illegal. Nevertheless, in an effort to profit on the “black market,” importers (or, more appropriately, smugglers) have taken many steps in an attempt to circumvent the canine sense of smell. One option has been to mask, or cover up, the odor of the contraband, with substances such as coffee grounds. Alternatively, descenting systems and methods, such as that described herein, may be employed. For example, descenting systems may be placed within the presence of the contraband in an effort to reduce or eliminate the odor emanating from such contraband enough to reduce or eliminate the success rate of service animals.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of descenting (removal of scents) apparatus and methods and of decontamination systems and methods are known, examples of which (and not by way of limitation) are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,309,388; 4,867,052; 4,941,270; 5,087,426; 5,205,999; 5,300,266; 5,433,919; 5,468,454; 5,484,472; 5,514,345; 5,539,930; 5,547,476; 5,566,627; 5,656,242; 5,667,564; 5,681,355; 5,762,648; 5,766,560; 5,788,930; 5,789,368; 5,790,987; 5,827,407; 5,833,740; 5,882,591; 5,911,957; 5,931,014; 5,942,438; 6,007,770; 6,009,559; 6,016,687; 6,027,688; 6,134,806; 6,134,718; 6,149,038; 6,156,268; 6,163,098; 6,228,330; 6,245,241; 6,280,691; 6,284,204; 6,312,507; 6,355,216; 6,379,435; 6,503,547; 6,564,591; 6,565,805; 6,576,190; 6,589,486; 6,630,105; 6,679,419; 6,827,861; 6,984,361; 7,294,318; 7,407,624; 7,510,470; and published U.S. Patent applications 20030044308, 20030101700; 20030143108; 20030152480; 20040022679; 20040258585; 20040262241; 20050051497; 20050186108; 2007166186; 20070034095; 20070101867—all of which are incorporated fully herein for all purposes.
Hunters, wildlife enthusiasts, and wildlife photographers all have an interest in attracting wildlife, such as, but not limited to, deer; and/or an interest in not being detected by animals. Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell to react with their surrounding environment, including to sense danger, interact with other deer and find food. Scents that are not a natural part of the environment will often function as a warning to deer, which may result in the deer being spooked and running from the unnatural scent.
According to Bernier et al in Analytical Chemistry, 2000, volume 72, issue 4, pages 747-756 and references cited therein which are incorporated fully herein by reference, as many as 346 discernible compounds were identified in human skin emanations. The majority of these were carboxylic acids, alcohols and esters, but aldehydes, aromatics, heterocyclics, ketones, sulfides and thio compounds were also identified. Work cited in Bernier has identified over 100 compounds from human breath. Work cited in Bernier identified foot odor as another source of odor. Some of these compounds are the result of bacteria reacting with body emanations, while other compounds directly emanate from humans. Other compounds emanated from humans can include pheromones, deodorants and perfumes as well as the detergents, perfumes, scents, and additives left on human clothes. While it is not known which specific compound or blends of compounds emanating from humans are identified by an animal as human, there is currently no effective way to eliminate or reduce odors from humans and from clothing and equipment enough to reduce the odors to inhibit detection by wildlife or effectively attract wildlife.
Persons interested in preventing detection by deer detecting human odors or interested in attracting deer often use masks, attractants, or cover scents to prevent alerting and spooking the deer. Some commonly used masks are carbon sprays which, in addition to being dangerous to inhale and which can irritate skin, become ineffective once dry. Many of the attractants contain deer urine or estrous, which besides being offensive to the human user, have limited shelf life and are generally ineffective since especially the estrous tend to occur naturally only in certain seasons. Cover scents such as fruit extracts or fragrances last a short time and are often so over-powering that the deer easily identifies the smell as unnatural and runs. The use of descenting soaps and shampoos is messy, time-consuming, often skin irritating, often ineffective and does not address breath odor. Breath descenting using herbs are generally distasteful, and face masks containing carbons or sieves are extremely uncomfortable.
More recently, the use of clothing containing activated carbons and/or clothing containing bacteria killing metals such as silver has gained some popularity. However, activated carbon has a very low capacity for odorants and requires temperatures preferably above 400° C., more preferably above 600° C. to regenerate the carbon. These temperatures are well beyond temperature (100 C to 120 C) that a conventional gas or electric clothes dryer is capable of achieving. Placement of clothing in ovens capable of achieving 400 C plus temperatures needed to regenerate the carbon can damage the fabric of a garment. Silver or other metal-containing clothing requires direct contact of the metal with the bacteria to be effective, which is almost never the case since the clothing would then be so restricting as to be uncomfortable. These types of clothing are also expensive and do not address human odors such as those in human breath, nor do they address any of the odors emanating from the foot or any exposed part of the skin like the head and hands.
It has now been discovered that gaseous ozone effectively kills bacteria and reduces or eliminates odors emanating from humans as well as odors contained in clothing worn by hunters. The advantages of ozone over other known masking and descenting methods include the facts that: ozone is a gas that eliminates odors emanating from a person (e.g., a hunter) and from personal equipment and can eliminate odors in a space between a person and an animal; and ozone is completely natural to the environment and leaves behind a very pleasant clean smell that wildlife and humans readily recognize, e.g. after a lightning rain. Known ozone generators include, for example, electrical discharge, UV light, and combinations thereof. The generator may be battery operated, operated with a car adaptor, and/or may be operated with AC current. The AC current may be supplied directly from an electrical outlet, or may be supplied using a portable generator.
Ozone is well known to treat odorous air, microorganisms, bacteria, mold, smoke, aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,961,878; 2,203,188; 3,421,836; 3,750,556; 3,937,967; 3,949,056; 4,045,316; 4,863,687; 4,904,289; 4,990,311; 5,087,426; 5,835,840; 5,983,834; 6,094,549; 6,613,277; 6,632,407; 20020030022; 20060096331; and references cited therein, which are all of which are incorporated fully herein for all purposes); and foreign references EP 261987; WO 200151096; WO 2003089017; WO 2005021135. WO 2005077425 and references cited therein, which are incorporated fully herein for all purposes, teaches the use of ozone to descent hunters clothing and other personal effects to be worn or carried on a hunting trip. In this case, the hunter, the clothing or personal effects are placed in a container, a portable enclosure, or a special descenting closet or room located, e.g., in a lodge or cabin in which the hunter is staying. As soon as the hunter leaves the building and enters a vehicle, or passes a moving vehicle, or begins to sweat, any prior descenting is of little value.
Animals have an acute sense of smell and are capable of recognizing a human scent or any other scent that is not advantageous in that environment at long distances. To avoid such recognition a hunter will attempt to stay down wind of the animal being hunted. Certain known methods used by hunters to trick animals are to mask the human odor utilizing a carbon spray or cover spray scents or an animal scent. Unfortunately the animal scents which are utilized, are obnoxious and linger on the clothing for long periods of time and often do not mask out human scents. Some of the scents utilized include animal urine. A hunter who is camping overnight does not desire the animal scents to be carried over to bedtime, home, car, etc.
There are other drawbacks in utilizing animal scents or any other scents. The scent may attract a predator of the game which the hunter is not hunting for which the hunter may not be prepared to encounter. Containers containing food, beverages, or any other substance emit scents readily recognizable to animals that may not be masked by animal scents or may not be natural to a given environment. Female hikers, campers, hunters, etc. can emit a readily recognizable scent to animals from menstruation that may not be masked by animal scents. Also, the weapon used by the hunter has an odor recognizable by some animals which cannot be disguised with a scent.
Fishermen have the problem of fish odor on their hands and clothes which is difficult to remove. For fishermen camping overnight the fish odor is not only undesirable because of the odor but can also attract animals such as bears which the fishermen is not prepared to meet.
Hunters have prepared their clothing before hand by washing to remove prior scents and/or human odor. The washing materials may also leave an odor. However, out in the field the hunter can sweat and permeate the clothing with a human scent. It would be desirable to deodorize clothing during a hunt or while on a fishing trip.
Ozone has been used, inter alia, for decontaminating smoke from fires; decontaminating buildings; and for decolorizing denim garments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,740 discloses an apparatus for sterilizing bottles utilizing ozone. The reference recognizes that ozone in large quantities can be harmful or irritating. Consequently, it was necessary to provide means for decomposing the excess ozone and/or to cause its escape into the atmosphere.
Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent. Ozone has 150% of the oxidizing potential of chlorine and twice the oxidizing potential of bromine. Ozone has been shown to be much more effective than chlorine with a reaction time up to 10 times faster. Ozone also readily self-destructs into simple diatomic oxygen due to its inherent instability. Ozone oxidizes biological products and kills bacteria.
Catalytic ionization of air using ultraviolet light is known to produce a mixture of ozone-containing hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions. Ionization devices which are used to eliminate smoke and odors are known in the art to produce hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions, e.g. those used in automobiles.
Thus, the need exists to develop effective systems and methods which overcome the disadvantages and problems set forth above. The need also exists, recognized by the present inventors, to detect the transport of contraband and to train personnel and animals in such detection.